Being sober better success rate 3 months ago

Experiencing alcohol used to be a real pleasure to me. I had drinks with friends, experimented, developed a taste for great microbrews, and delved into wine. To give that up seemed unnecessary for a long time, especially since I was able to use alcohol responsibly.

• It affected my capacity for love, especially in the day or so following even moderate drinking. I’ve read that alcohol makes people feel happy and expansive while drinking, by using up a lot at once of the chemicals in the brain that produce feelings of connection and love for others, causing a later deficit of those.
• It caused me to experience my own bad judgement, which made me feel disreputable, especially when I would enter a social situation with the intention of “having just one glass of wine”, and decide after the first glass that another would be all right, and find myself drunk by the end of the party. That happened four or five times, which helped me come to the decision to quit entirely, since I don’t trust my own judgement after having even just one glass of wine.
• Alcohol use affected my physical well-being, by adding empty calories, replacing truly joyful activities I could have engaged in instead of sitting/drinking, and contributed two or three disturbingly bad hangovers to my life.

Declining to drink, of course, leads to some uncomfortable social scrutiny. Since I strongly support the freedom of each person to act as we please, I’ll enter the social situations and behave according to my new principles. It’s working fine. 6 months ago

There is not much impeding success in this goal, and I am considerably satisfied towards meeting the goal.

• Social occasions where I perceive pressure to drink
• Having a whimsical desire to enjoy a beer or glass of wine
• Getting drunk after a lowered resolve, then continuing to have more alcohol.

In summary, although it’s possible that from time to time, I may have a few sips of beer or wine, I’m confident that I will be able to do without drinking more than one whole [standard] beer or wine, which satisfies my standards for meeting this goal. 7 months ago

Recently, I just haven’t been enjoying going out and having a drink as much as I used to. Obviously, I don’t want to completely quit social life so I need to get out once in a while, but realised that drinking does not really add any value to it and therefore decided to change my habits and not damage my health any longer. Alcohol-free cider seems to be working and so does hot chocolate, or a tea with some cake. I am not fully opposed to me drinking when there’s a big celebration of some sort (babysteps), but I would like to quit the habit of drinking on regular basis when meeting up with friends. 10 months ago

3 nights out in Ireland 15 months ago

No alcohol for 37 days and I feel much better thank you God 16 months ago

it’s how many months, now? four or five. do i miss it? not at all

am sleeping better and thinking better, and probably making better life decisions as a result

i was never an addict, i guess, in the aa sense of the word, but giving up was life changing; my social life – almost barren in the first place – no longer exists. but the trade-off in terms of less anxiety and self-doubt, greater self-confidence, and best of all, a clear head, has been worth it

to anyone struggling through the first bitter month or so of giving up – keep working, it gets easier, it WILL make you happier 16 months ago

Aim for week 3 16 months ago

Still no etoh day 19 16 months ago

Let go and let God 17 months ago

i’m losing count actually

i started off counting the days, and it was pretty painful; now it’s become a habit

not much social life to speak of, though; but i don’t think i’m missing a lot. friday nights i used first to say goodbye to myself then to the whole weekend

i think i’m lucky to have escaped relatively unscathed – a few physical scars, quite a few more emotional ones; i think i know where it was all leading and i am sure that i cannot afford to have another drink again

now i’m not fighting desire for a drink, but i’m fighting complacency: i tell myself that i have achieved something but that one little slip could ruin everything

i wish you all, all the very best, in your fight 18 months ago

I think I had really had enough with alcohol when I saw people being ‘ambassadors’ for booze by grown men fighting in hotel receptions, smashing up rooms, puking, vandalising not to mention what the liver looks like if you’re an alcoholic. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages.It is not a pretty sight. As a cyclist, drunk drivers cause death on the road. It just smacks of irresponsibility.

In my teens my friends encouraged me to go drinking on a Friday night or to drink Snakebites before my gap year holiday.

I found that I was mixing with the wrong people, with wrong values in life so I left those ‘buddies’ behind. They didn’t like it very much but they were a bad influence on me.

I do have a weakness for mulled wine occasionally and the odd liquour round Christmas time,but I would like to just limit it to just that.

Fortunately I have found alternatives, ie water, ginger beer, malt beer and smoothies.

Of course, it doesn’t go down well with almost everyone I know! That is their problem. I do tend to be a pain in the a**s if people are drinking round me… I am such a party pooper in that sense! However, one person I know was inspired by me and has given up alcohol completely and she used to drink a lot.

I find it very difficult when friends turn to drink. They change their character and I don’t know them anymore and I don’t feel comfortable with people who drink out of peer pressure. I don’t have any quarms about leaving friends who drink a lot, I don’t want to feel that they’re going to be one day in the gutter. I like to be around people who set good examples.I just cannot handle the situation they put me in to be honest. It doesn’t matter if my friends are drastically reduced, but it opens doors to a new type of person I want to mix with.

Coming from a brewing dynasty it is even more important that I don’t drink! They help wreck lives. 20 months ago

9 days clear and all is well 22 months ago

It’s not the entire answer, but it’s a start.

I was getting in a bad routine of coping with a stressful day at work by buying wine on the way home. That’s exactly the way I crept up to two bottles of wine every night. I don’t want to end up in that place again.

I’m still binge drinking on the weekend, but trying to cut the frequency of that down too.

I’m still undecided whether I need to quit alcohol altogether or whether I can get it to a manageable level? 2 years ago

Stressful/miserable day at work today and I found myself throwing myself into the fags and booze with the justification that at least it isn’t the food. 2 years ago

Aim for 1week free 2 years ago

Aim for 1week free 2 years ago